Three Weeks
by SClownzZzZz
Summary: Vidcund accidentally makes a deal with Amber Pons on Valentine's Day that he can get his boyfriend Loki to fall in love with him all over again in three weeks or less regardless of the time period. Unfortunately for Vidcund, Amber sends him back to high school where he is still dating Circe, and Loki hates his guts and wants nothing to do with him.
1. Soulmates

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! It's been over a year since I wrote a smaller fanfiction for the archive, so I'm back with another one of my favorite fanfiction tropes involving time travel! This was originally supposed to be posted on Valentine's Day but was postponed due to my injury. But instead of waiting until next February, I just decided to post it now. It shares a similar timeline to the one established in _Snapshots From A New Strangetown_ but due to this fic's length, I decided to turn it into its own story instead of featuring it in _Snapshots_.

As always, feel free to leave me a review letting me know what you think and if you'd like to see more of this fic! :D

* * *

**Three Weeks** by SClownzZzZz

_Part One – Soulmates_

Forty-three-year-old Vidcund Curious is sitting at the edge of the bar at Londoste, the fanciest restaurant in Downtown, waiting for his partner to arrive for their Valentine's Day dinner. Vidcund sighs as he glances down at his watch for what seems like the fifteenth time that minute. "God, where is he?" Vidcund mutters, glancing around the crowded restaurant, his troubled state immediately catching the attention of the young witch sitting across the room. She smirks and floats over to him.

"Looking for someone?" the atrociously evil witch, Amber Pons, wonders, causing Vidcund to instantly turn at her chilling voice.

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just waiting for my boyfriend," Vidcund replies, turning towards the bartender in the hopes of detouring the witch's attention.

"You're dating Loki, right?" Amber moving towards him as she presses further, "The neighborhood villain?"

Vidcund nods, suddenly feeling the need to defend his actions, "He's not that bad. He's actually really sweet."

"I'll bet," Amber replies dubiously, taking a seat on the barstool next to him, "So sweet he stood you up on Valentine's Day."

"He'll be here," Vidcund states firmly, still avoiding her gaze.

Amber laughs. "You seem so certain. It's amusing."

"Well, Loki and I are practically soulmates. He would never stand me up," Vidcund smiles, looking into her eyes.

"Wow, Vidcund," Amber smirks, "I've never seen someone so convinced by such a trivial matter," she states, a devious expression forming on her face, "You really think you and Loki are soulmates?"

"Of course."

"So convinced that I could just send you back to any time in your dating career and you're confident that you two would end up together?" she challenges.

Vidcund nods, not having to give this a second thought. "Sure."

"Okay, then consider it done," she says, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the biologist.

"Wait!" Vidcund exclaims, his eyes widening at the situation as he stands up and backs away from her, "What are you doing?"

"Vidcund, my dear, you just made a deal with a witch on the most spontaneous day of the year," Amber confesses, "You have three weeks to get Loki to love you, or you'll be stuck in the past forever."

"Oh," Vidcund states, heaving a sigh of relief, "That's all? That'll be easy."

Amber cocks her forehead, flashing a smirk. "Will it?"

She steps forward and snaps her fingers, a green cloud of light consuming the Curious brother as she laughs evilly to the heavens.

"_This won't be so bad," _Vidcund's voice chimes in his head as his vision blurs around him, _"It shouldn't be that hard to get Loki to love me. I mean, he was crushing on me for most of his college career…"_

Vidcund groans as he slowly opens his eyes, Amber's spell making him feel like he just got hit by a truck. He moans as he pushes his comforter off him, the familiar blanket covered with patterns of atoms. Vidcund yawns, his eyes slowly adjusting to his new surroundings. His stomach drops as he eyes the color of his bedroom walls: a light, periwinkle blue. Vidcund quickly turns to the right, shifting into a sheer panic when he sees his youngest brother, Lazlo, who appears to be about thirteen years old, fast asleep in his bed on the other side of the room. Vidcund turns to the left, getting a first look at himself in the mirror. He is young, scrawny, and has terrible ache.

"-Oh no."

Vidcund's alarm clock blares on the nightstand next to him causing his oldest brother, Pascal, to slam open the door and waltz into the room. Vidcund looks up at Pascal, whose messy hair and navy-blue t-shirt he hasn't seen in years.

"Wake up, guys! Whoo! IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Pascal exclaims, bouncing up and down twice before racing down the hallway.

Vidcund quickly gets out of bed and runs over to him, placing his hands on Pascal's shoulders. "Pascal, quick! What decade is it?" he wonders.

Pascal cocks his forehead, clearly troubled by his brother's frantic state, "Uh, it's the 90s, Vid. Are you feeling alright?"

Vidcund nods, his whole body shaking, "Yeah," he lies, grabbing onto his noodle arms. He stares down at his hands, "_God, was I always this scrawny?_"

…

"Alright, boys. Have fun at school!" their father, Glarn, chimes as he stops the old family van in front of Strangetown High School after a frenzied, thirty-minute morning roundup routine, his mustache as thick and lush as ever.

In the back seat, Vidcund is shivering between his brothers, never being more scared in his life. Concerned, Lazlo turns to him, "Uh, are you okay?"

"He's fine, now get out of the car," Glarn answers for him, pushing his trio of sons out so he can feed his Tamagotchi.

Pascal leads Vidcund out of the car, Lazlo pushing him from behind so his father doesn't drive away with open doors again. Pascal and Lazlo stand on either side of Vidcund as he surveys the scene. The schoolyard is filled with people he hasn't seen in years. Vidcund steps back as he watches absolute chaos unfold around him. He can't remember the last time he's seen so many teenagers, but after this moment, he has a feeling that he never wants to see another one again.

Vidcund turns to the side, locking eyes with a familiar witch who is leaning up against one of the trees in the corner of the schoolyard. Vidcund growls and walks forward, pointing his finger accusingly in her face. "You!" he snarls, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Amber smirks, clearly getting enjoyment out of her spell, "You said it would be easy to win his affections."

"But you know Loki didn't start liking me until we were in college!" Vidcund argues, "At this stage in our lives, it's borderline impossible!"

"Love knows no bounds, Vidcund. You of all people should know that," Amber replies, "Besides, teenagers fall in love at the drop of hat. This should be easy for you. That's why I'm only giving you three weeks to do it," Amber states, three of her jagged, pointy finger raised up towards the sky, "If you can't get Loki to fall for you by Thursday, March 7th, then you won't return to the present and your children will never exist."

"What?! No! You can't do that! High school was a total train wreck for me!" Vidcund cries, "Send me back! Please!"

Across the schoolyard, Pascal and Lazlo watch as Vidcund over-exaggeratedly flails his arms out and argues with a tree. Pascal cocks his forehead, deeply puzzled by the display.

Five minutes of unsuccessful pleading later, Vidcund steps away from the tree and looks around him, now knowing he has no choice but to obey Amber's command if he ever wants to see the twins again. "Now, let's see here," he states, "If we're all in high school, then I'm probably around fifteen, which must mean that I'm still dating-"

As if on cue, a young Circe wraps her arms around Vidcund and kisses him, Vidcund's eyes widening at her touch. Vidcund glances to the side, spying a sixteen-year-old Loki glaring at him from behind a shrub.

"What are you doing?" Vidcund squeaks after Circe stops smothering him, "I have a boyfriend!"

"What?!" Circe cries, her face skewed, Vidcund immediately horrified by what he just said, "Did you just say you have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah…you," Vidcund quickly deflects, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. Circe reddens and slaps Vidcund in the face, "Oww!" he shouts, rubbing the side of his face as she storms away from him, "Well, it's going great so far," he mumbles to himself, "Can't get out of this place soon enough."

Vidcund sighs as he walks further away from a fuming Circe, doing his best to keep his paranoia at bay. "Calm down, Vidcund," he instructs as he makes his way across the schoolyard, "This is just a classic Sci-Fi scenario. Just don't alter the past too much, kiss Loki, and get the hell out of here." Vidcund says, quickly changing direction to keep up with Loki, who is walking towards the school's entrance. Vidcund swings forward, accidentally punching a teenaged General Buzz in the face, knocking him out cold. A bunch of students race over to them and surround the unconscious student. Vidcund steps back, terror filling his entire body as he covers his gaping mouth with his hand.

"You-you just beat up the toughest kid in school," a young Craig states, staring up at Vidcund in awe.

"Yes, I mean no. I mean-I gotta go!" Vidcund squeaks, racing over to the answer to all his problems. Vidcund sighs as he approaches Loki, who has stopped near the side of the building, determined to put an end to this madness, "Hey, Loki!"

"What?" Loki growls, turning towards him.

Vidcund steps forward, grabs Loki by the sides of the face, and gives him the most romantic kiss he can muster, shocking his rival to the core. Vidcund pulls away from Loki and smiles, only to be immediately greeted by a fist to the face courtesy of his once lover.

Vidcund blacks out.


	2. High School Never Ends

**Three Weeks**

_Part Two – High School Never Ends_

Vidcund is sitting outside of Principal Jayapalan's office, groaning as he holds an ice pack to his newly-injured face. His father, Glarn, is occupying the seat next to him, looking the most irritated he has all morning. "Kissing boys, beating up classmates," Glarn recounts as he stares down at his middle son, "What has gotten into you, Vidcund?" he presses, "Are you on drugs?"

"Uh, no," Vidcund states, setting down the ice pack to respond.

Glarn shakes his head as he tends his Tamagotchi, "Hmm…that sounds like something someone who's on drugs would say," he sighs, "Man, just wait 'til your mother gets here."

Vidcund sits up in his seat, his eyes widening at this piece of information. "Wait, you mean, Mom's not dead yet?" he questions.

"No," Glarn scoffs, "your mother is not dead yet! What kind of question is that?!" he cries, "Honestly, Vidcund, what is wrong with you? Why did you kiss the Beaker boy?" Glarn hisses, sticking his Tamagotchi pack into his pants' pocket, "Couldn't you have kissed someone poorer? Now the Beakers are threatening to sue us, and we're not made of money!" Glarn reminds Vidcund as he goes to feed his virtual pet, a small squeak chiming from his pocket, "Geez, this thing is impossible to please!"

"Sorry I'm late," Vidcund's mother, Kitty, speaks as she draws near them from the hallway. "I was at the store buying watermelon."

"Mom!" Vidcund squeals, immediately jumping up and throwing his arms around her.

Kitty freezes slightly, shocked by his joyous reaction at her presence. She warmly hugs him back. "Aww. Hi, sweetheart."

"_Kiss-up_," Glarn mutters under his breath.

…

Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund is sitting in the principal's office, his parents on either side of him as they meet with Principal Jayapalan over the incident at recess. Principal Jayapalan sighs as he finishes recounting the incident, hands folded on his desk. "As you know, the school doesn't allow physical contact of any kind, so you can see why this is a problem," he completes, turning to Mr. and Mrs. Curious.

"Wait…Vidcund did this?" Glarn replies, something not adding up in his brain as he sits across from the head of the school with his face scrunched, "Are you sure it wasn't Pascal?"

"Yes," Principal Jayapalan nods, "As far as I know, he wasn't even in the general proximity."

"And you're sure Vidcund kissed Loki, right?" Glarn asks further, "Not some kind of plant? Was Loki standing next to a tree?"

"Dad!" Vidcund chimes in, clearly embarrassed as he sinks into his seat.

Principal Jayapalan shakes his head, "No, your son kissed Mr. Beaker."

"Hmm…" Glarn says, tapping his chin ponderously, "And you're sure it wasn't Pascal?"

Principal Jayapalan sighs, rubs his aching forehead, and takes an aspirin as his secretary buzzes in over the intercom.

"_Mr. Jayapalan, the Beakers are here_," Susan's cheerful voice buzzes.

Principal Jayapalan sits up and places his finger on the button. "Send them in," he instructs, motioning for Vidcund and his parents to shift seats to accommodate.

Loki's parents, Bjorn and Gundrun Beaker, waltz into the room, their demeanor unusually happy for the situation at hand. Behind them, their son is glaring at Vidcund, his arms crossed over his torso. "Principal Jayapalan, how are you doing?" Bjorn greets, reaching over the desk and shaking his hand firmly, "I haven't seen you since this morning!"

"Uh, I'm fine, Bjorn. You three can take a seat," Principal Jayapalan replies, gesturing the trio over to the available chairs. Loki's parents quickly scurry over.

"So, what's this all about?" Bjorn wonders, crossing his legs on the desk, "You know, you didn't have to call this meeting just to impress me."

"Dad, shut up," Loki groans.

Principal Jayapalan sighs and rubs his forehead, "No one's trying to impress you, Bjorn, I called everyone here because something troubling happened on school grounds-"

Gundrun smiles and crosses her legs, "Principal Jayapalan, are you single?" she wonders.

Loki faces palms, "Oh God…"

"No," Principal Jayapalan replies with certainty, hoping to steer the conversation back to more serious matters, "Now, I'm sure you two recall the incident that happened this morning that I told you about on the phone," he states, turning to Loki's parents. Principal Jayapalan sighs at the pair's blank looks, "You know, about Vidcund kissing your son?"

"Oh, yeah," Bjorn says, shaking his head at the thought, "Look, I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, when I was his age, I kissed everything in sight. And I mean _everything_-"

"Yeah, and I don't blame Vidcund for trying to kiss Loki. I mean, just look at him," Gundrun squeals, wrapping her arms around her son and giving him a squeeze, "He's so adorable!"

"Wait, so if you're not blaming Vidcund for the incident, then why are you threatening to sue us?" Glarn speaks up, feeling more confused by the second.

Bjorn laughs and waves it off, "Oh, please. We're not suing you or the school," he replies, "Loki just likes saying that for attention."

"Yes," Gundrun chimes, turning to Vidcund, "Just don't kiss Loki again unless he wants it, and we'll be fine, alright?" Vidcund nods.

"Great!" Bjorn responds, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, "Now, can we leave now or what? Cause I gotta go meet someone behind the dumpster." Loki groans and hides his face in his hands.

…

Five minutes after the awkward meeting has dispersed, Vidcund races down the hallway, attempting to reach Loki before he exits out the door. Vidcund sighs as he manages to corner Loki near the water fountain, hand on his chest as he attempts to catch his breath. "Look, Loki, I'm sorry I kissed you, but you don't understand," Vidcund tells him as Loki raises his eyebrow at his rival's troublesome state, "I'm from the future where you and I are dating, and we have two children together. Well, they're not biologically _our_ children," Vidcund explains, catching his breath, "but they're your genetically-engineered super clones that you accidentally made eighteen years in the future named Atom and Ceres. And if I ever want to see you or the kids again, I have to get you to fall back in love with me," he reveals, pausing and flashing an innocent smile as he gauges Loki's reaction.

Loki stands in place, his eyes widening like saucers. "Oh God, is this some sort of twisted fanfiction idea of yours?" he states.

"What? No. Come on!" Vidcund cries, throwing his arms up, "What's so hard to believe about what I just said?"

"One, I would never like you," Loki claims, taking a step forward, "Two, I would never have children with you. And three, and most importantly, I would never fail a science experiment in a million years," Loki lists off, sauntering past him. Loki stops in the center of the hallway and turns back towards Vidcund, "But Ceres is a good name, though," he adds before strolling through the double doors.

Vidcund sighs as he leans up against a row of lockers, his head aching after the monstrous first day he had in the past. "Oh, Vidcund, give it up," Amber chimes from the row of lockers across from him, "No one in the right mind would ever believe you…even if you are telling the truth," she taunts, "I mean, you'd have to be pretty detached from reality to believe this story."

At this, Vidcund lifts his head up, a light bulb flashing in his mind.

…

"Wait," Pascal says, rubbing his chin in front of his locker moments after Vidcund explained the entire situation to him, "So, you're telling me that you're from the future where you and Loki are dating and have children, but you've been transported to the past by an evil witch. And now you need my help to get Loki to fall back in love with you in order to conserve the timeline?" he rehashes.

"Yes," Vidcund nods.

"Hmm…okay, no offense, Vid," Pascal begins, "but that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard."

Vidcund sighs and slouches his shoulders, this reaction all too familiar for him. "So, you don't believe me?"

"No, I do," Pascal replies, "That's just the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I mean, what is that?"

"Great!" Vidcund beams, finally feeling an ounce of sanity for the first time since he arrived in the past, "So, just this morning, I kissed Loki and he punched me, then I accidentally beat up the toughest kid in school. And now I have to make Loki fall for me all over again if I ever want to see my kids in the future. So, what do I do now?"

"Well…I hate to say it, Vid, but your only option is to try to charm Loki."

Vidcund sighs, his stomach twisting into a knot. He groans and holds his stomach. "Oh man, this is going to be a complete catastrophe," he states, the bell instantly ringing behind him.

…

Twenty minutes later, Vidcund is sitting at his desk at the front of the room, attempting to flirt with Loki in the middle of their Geometry class. Every time Vidcund winks at him, Loki groans, stares at Vidcund bizarrely, and turns the other way in his adjacent seat.

A short while later, Vidcund and Loki are called to the blackboard to try to graph a system of equations. Loki beams as he finishes the problem first and steps back to gloat at Vidcund. To his surprise, Vidcund has scraped the original problem and graphed a heart-shaped mathematical curve instead. After completing the drawing, Vidcund steps back and beams, raising his eyebrows at Loki. Loki rolls his eyes, slams his piece of chalk down, and stomps back to his seat.

The bell rings, causing all the students in the class to pack up and race into the hallway. Loki sighs when he arrives at his locker, knowing full well that Vidcund has trailed him all the way there. "Quit harassing me, Vidcund!" Loki barks, turning to glare at his rival as Loki death-grips his books, "I don't like you!"

"You know what?" Vidcund cries, throwing his arm down, "You're such a jerk! I don't know why I ever fell for you in the first place!"

Loki tilts his forehead, even more puzzled by the second, "What the hell are you talking about?! That didn't happen! That _never _happened!" Loki proclaims, "You're insane!"

"No, I'm not!" Vidcund argues, "You love me!"

"Listen, Curious," Loki growls, threateningly grabbing Vidcund by the arm, "Even if there was some microscopic part of me that liked you, I am _way_ out of your league!"

Vidcund pauses, staring cluelessly down at Loki's hand constraining his arm, "Are you hitting on me?" he wonders.

Loki groans and pushes Vidcund away from him. "Just stay the hell away from me!" he cries.

Vidcund sighs hopelessly as he watches Loki storm off the premises and out of sight, the fifteen-year-old wondering what is he supposed to do now.


	3. Take Three

**Three Weeks**

_Part Three – Take Three_

The next morning, Vidcund is lying his head down in his locker, moaning into its silver base. Pascal walks down the hallway, whistling a cheery tune, stopping when he notices his younger brother's troublesome state. "Hey Vid," Pascal greets, approaching him cautiously, "Uh, everything okay?"

"I can't woo Loki, Pascal," Vidcund groans into his locker, "This task is impossible."

"Now, come on, don't talk like that," Pascal says, carefully helping his brother out of the locker, "I really think you can do it."

Vidcund turns to Pascal and sighs, "Maybe I could if Loki was like any other sim, but he's not."

"See, that's the problem," Pascal says, "You're trying to win Loki over like he's a normal person. But maybe the problem isn't the target, Vid, it's the approach."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning, if you want Loki to love you, then you're going to have to share in his interests and do things his way, otherwise this whole thing will be a lost cause," Pascal explains, giving Vidcund a gentle pat on the shoulder, "And, if you really do know him inside and out like you say you do, it shouldn't hard at all for you to find something that he likes."

"Maybe you're right," Vidcund replies, taking a step back as he shakes his head in amazement, "God, were you always this smart?"

Pascal smiles and laughs before regaining his composure, "Hey, I know this may be the wrong time to ask this, but did you ever finish your science fair project?" he asks.

Vidcund scrunches his forehead, "Science fair project?" he repeats.

"Yeah," Pascal nods, "The competition is this afternoon," he states, "I was going to enter this year, but I've been so busy with my college courses that I forgot."

"Well, considering the fact that I can't even remember what happened prior to yesterday in this timeline, I'm just going to take a wild guess here and say that I didn't," Vidcund answers honestly.

"Oh. That's too bad," Pascal says, "because this would've been a great opportunity for you to impress Loki."

"What?" Vidcund squeaks.

"Loki loves competition, right?" Pascal states; Vidcund gives a small nod, "Well, now's your chance to beat him at own game and get him to notice you."

Vidcund rolls his eyes. "He already notices me, Pascal, I just wish he could notice me in a good way for once. And you know what? I think the science fair may be the way to do it!" Vidcund remarks, a small smile spreading across his face, "Let's see here, sophomore year he beat me at the science fair with his project on perpetual motion," he begins, rubbing his chin ponderously, "I just need to come up with a project better than that," Vidcund replies, thinking this conundrum over for a bit before slowly lifting his head up, his eyes glistening at his latest Eureka! moment, "-_Potatoes_," he awes.

Pascal cocks his head, "Potatoes?" he repeats, clearly puzzled.

"Yes," Vidcund confirms, "You don't understand. Every time Loki has ever lost the science fair, it was to a potato-related project. I could put a pinwheel in a potato, and he would lose."

"Hmm…I am intrigued by your theory," Pascal states, his eyes shining in excitement, "Let's try it out!"

"Great!" Vidcund beams, "I think there's one in the cafeteria-"

"VIDCUND!" a shrill voice shrieks causing Vidcund and Pascal to immediately stop in their tracks, turning towards the source of the noise. They watch as Circe stomps over to them, her face fuming as she glares at her boyfriend. "Vidcund, what is all this talk about you hitting on Loki in Geometry class?" she grills.

Vidcund steps away from her, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck in the process, "Uh, listen, Circe-"

"No, you listen!" Circe barks, aggressively poking his chest with her finger, "You are on _very_ thin ice with me, Vidcund. Because if you do so much as even look at that creep again, you and I are done! Got it?" she snarls.

Vidcund quickly nods, pure terror filling through his body. Satisfied, Circe moves away from her boyfriend and flashes him a smirk. She exhales, returning to a pleasant demeanor. "Good," she chimes, "I'll see you at lunch," Circe says, twisting on her heel and sashaying down the hallway. Vidcund shivers as he and Pascal watch her walk off.

"I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more scared of her now than I am in the present," he confesses.

Next to him, Pascal nods in understanding, "She must've grown into her evilness," he states, turning back to his brother, "Now come on, let's get you that potato and beat Loki at his own game!"

…

Seven hours later, the science fair is well underway in the gymnasium at Strangetown High School, projects set up as far as the eye can see. The head judge of the competition, Principal Jayapalan himself, is standing at Loki's presentation table, awing at the student's project on perpetual motion. "Well, Mr. Beaker," Principal Jayapalan states as Pascal and Vidcund watch him from Vidcund's table six feet across the room, "I know I say this every year, but your projects keep getting better and better."

"Thank you, Principal Jayapalan," Loki replies, basking in the glory as his parents and peers surround the small presentation area, which is made up of six wooden tables arranged in a circle, "It's hard to contain my brilliance." Behind him, Circe rolls her eyes at his comment.

"Well, Vidcund," Principal Jayapalan begins, stopping at the only empty table in the bunch, staring wondrously out at the student, "You're the last one up," he tells him, "Or do you not have a project this year?"

"No, I do," Vidcund answers smugly, "I just didn't think it needed gussying up," he remarks flashing Loki a smirk.

Vidcund takes a small step back and reaches underneath the table. He grabs the potato and rests it on the surface. Behind him, everyone is watching, deeply intrigued, while Pascal stands off to the side near his brother, a large smile on his face. Vidcund reaches back under the table and nonchalantly takes out a pinwheel. He shoves it in the center of the potato, causing the pinwheel to stand firmly upright, the red and silver device turning ever so slightly by the gymnasium's massive fan.

Principal Jayapalan scratches his chin as he stares down at the project. He picks the potato up and scans it over, carefully taking it all in. "Hmm…" he begins, mulling this over as he gently sets the potato back on Vidcund's empty table, "First prize!" he beams, slapping the first-place ribbon on this potato-pinwheel monstrosity.

"WHAT?!" Loki outbursts, his face turning purple in rage, "You have got to be kidding me! That project sucks!"

"Loki!" Gundrun chimes out behind him, watching as her son storms off the premises, knocking down several other projects on the way.

…

"Oh God, what was I thinking?" Vidcund moans, standing with his brother in the gymnasium as they watch a team of janitors clean up the aftermath fifteen minutes later, "Loki doesn't want to date someone better than him."

"Then why did he date Circe?" Pascal wonders, pondering over this piece of information that Vidcund shared with him the day before.

"Ugh! I'm such an idiot," Vidcund cries, rubbing the sides of his cheeks in distress, "Loki's not mature enough to handle me humiliating him in front of the entire student body!" he remarks, "Loki at sixteen and Loki at forty-four are two very different sims!"

Pascal nods, "Well, when did he start maturing?"

"Maturing?" Vidcund repeats, confused by the question. He sighs, "Okay, so maybe he's not that different after all."

…

Pascal and Vidcund walk into Strangetown High School the next morning, their sights set on Vidcund's locker. Vidcund cocks his forehead as he sees some of his classmate walking around with potato pinwheels in the main hallway. He turns to Pascal, deeply troubled, "Uh…what's with the potatoes?" he wonders.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Pascal replies, "Potato pinwheels are now the hottest sensation here since Pixy Stix," he tells him, giving an adoring sigh as the pair stop at Vidcund's locker, "You know, it's amazing what someone can accomplish when they don't give a shit about anything."

"Yeah," Vidcund says, swinging open his locker door. He stops abruptly, now noticing Buzz cowering a few feet away from him. "Oh my God, are you afraid of me?" he wonders, staring down at his former bully. Buzz screams when he locks eyes with Vidcund and races across the hall.

"So, you gotta tell me about the future," Pascal says, leaning against the neighboring lockers after the strangeness of the situation has past, "What am I like?"

Vidcund smiles and laughs, "You're awesome," he tells him, grabbing his biology textbook and slamming his locker shut. Vidcund perks up even more when he sees Loki at his locker down the hall. "Hey Loki!" Vidcund greets, walking over to him.

Loki quickly slams his locker and storms away from his rival, giving Vidcund a death glare as he does so. Pascal leans to the side, stopping next to a puzzled Vidcund who is now standing in the center of the hallway. "Do you think he's still mad about the science fair?" he wonders.

Vidcund watches as Loki snatches a potato pinwheel from one of his peers near the entrance to the cafeteria. Loki throws the potato pinwheel on the ground and stomps on it, causing Vidcund to raise an eyebrow before turning back to his brother.

"No, I think he's over it," Vidcund remarks.


	4. Parental Guidance

**Three Weeks**

_Part Four – Parental Guidance_

It's an uncharacteristically quiet Thursday evening at the Curious residence and most of the family has just dispersed to their separate corners of the house, leaving Vidcund lingering alone in the hallway. Vidcund sighs as he peeks around the hallway at his father, Glarn, who is sitting on the living room sofa thoroughly inspecting Vidcund's winning science fair project. Vidcund steps away from the wall and sets his hand on his chest. He exhales deeply, "Well, here goes nothing."

"Uh, Dad?" Vidcund squeaks, stopping in front of his father, "I need your advice on something."

"Really?" Glarn chimes, immediately setting the potato pinwheel back on the coffee table, his voice laced in surprise, "I don't think you've ever asked for my advice on anything. You wouldn't even let me help you with your homework."

"I know," Vidcund sighs, hands clasped behind his back, "but you're the only person I know who's ever had three semi-successful relationships, and since I've exhausted all other options, I figured just this once wouldn't hurt."

"Well, okay," Glarn replies as Vidcund sits down on the sofa next to him, "What's up, son?"

Vidcund sighs and stares down at the carpet, "So…I like this guy-"

"-Loki," Glarn butts in.

"Yeah, Loki," Vidcund states, "And I'm worried that I've done too much to scare him off, and he'll never like me again," he reveals, "So…uh, is there anything I can do to fix that?"

"Vidcund, it sounds like this boy is just not into you," Glarn tells him, setting a consoling hand on his son's shoulder, "The best thing for you to do would be to just move on."

Vidcund sighs, "See, normally I would agree with that, but if we don't get together, something catastrophic will happen," he says, eyeing the perturbed look on his father's face, "Come on Dad, you got Glabe to like you again, so obviously you know something about repairing relationships-"

"What?!" Glarn jolts backward in his seat, pure panic spreading across his face. Glarn quickly scans the area, leans forward, and lowers his voice to a whisper, "How do you know about Glabe? Was it Bjorn? Did he blab to you?"

"What? No," Vidcund replies, confused by his father's frantic demeanor, "You, uh, told me in your sleep," Vidcund lies, hoping to blanket over this topic, "Dad, relax, I'm not looking to ruin your relationships, I just want advice."

"Oh," Glarn says, leaning back in his seat a tad, still on edge about the whole thing, "Say, how about I buy you a car, huh? Would that make you happy, Vidcund?"

Vidcund shakes his head, "You don't have to bribe me, Dad. I'm not going to say anything to Mom about Glabe or the radioactive possums."

"You know about the possums?!" Glabe shrieks, holding the sides of his face in agony.

Vidcund gives a heavy sigh and sits up from the couch. "Never mind. I can see this was a gigantic waste of time," he mutters, stepping into the hallway. He passes by Lazlo, who is staring at him intriguingly.

"Hey, Vidcund," Lazlo greets, "I know how to get Loki to like you. And, trust me, it's _way _better than any advice Dad would give you."

Vidcund sighs as he stops mid-hallway and turns to his younger brother, "It's not 'be myself', is it?"

Lazlo's face instantly falls, "I'm sorry I wasted your time," he says, swiftly sneaking off the premises.

…

"The game is dodgeball," Coach Mullaney, Strangetown High School's top gym teacher, states early the next morning as he stares down at the weakest class of sophomores that he has had the misfortune of teaching. He grips the dodgeball tightly in his hands, "The game is simple: Knock out all of your opponent's teeth and reduce them down to a puddle of tears, and you'll be fine."

"Yeesh. I don't remember gym being this traumatizing," Vidcund mutters to Circe. The pair is standing on a giant blue mat with the rest of their classmates, Loki staring longingly at Circe from a few feet back.

"Is there a question, Mr. Curious?" Coach Mullaney barks, narrowing in on the scrawny teenager.

Vidcund quickly shakes his head, fear flashing in his eyes, "No, no question here, just a clever observation."

"-Says you," Loki mutters behind him.

"Well, since you are so inclined to interrupt my lesson today, you can be a team captain!" Coach Mullaney blares, throwing the dodgeball at Vidcund. He catches it with a colossal oomph.

"How exactly is this a punishment?" Vidcund wonders, tilting his head.

"Just shut-up and pick someone!" Coach Mullaney fires, turning away from the students and rubbing his aching forehead, "God, I hate children!"

"Um, okay," Vidcund says, turning towards his fellow sophomore classmates. He looks to the back row and smiles, "I pick Loki."

"And I pick restraining order!" Loki quips, crossing his arms over his torso.

Vidcund sighs and weaves through the crowd of his classmates. He stops in front of his rival, "Come on Loki, I think we'd work really well together," Vidcund beams. Loki cocks his eyebrow, never being less convinced by a proposal in his life.

Forty-five minutes later, Vidcund is hobbling out of the gymnasium, his teammates equally scoffed up behind him. "Come on guys," Vidcund speaks up, addressing the dozens of glares that are directed at him, "A score of six hundred to nothing isn't that bad!" he chimes. Loki stomps towards Vidcund and shoots him a death glare before exiting the gymnasium, causing Vidcund to release a rather lengthy sigh as he watches Loki leave.

Circe stops in front of Vidcund, a sassy smirk on her face as she grips the very dodgeball she pelted both Vidcund and Loki with, "Well, I was going to dump you after you picked Loki over me, but then I realized if I did that, it would only be the second most embarrassing thing that happened to you today," she smirks, staring down at Vidcund, "I told you you should've picked me for your team," she tisks before sashaying to the locker room.

…

"I don't get it, Pascal," Vidcund states, packing his books into his locker before the pair head to the cafeteria, his body still throbbing in pain after the worst dodgeball game in history, "I thought the two of us working together would get Loki to fall for me for sure, but all it did was make him hate me even more, especially since Coach Mullaney had to come up with a whole new scoring system to show how much we stunk."

"Well," Pascal begins, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a turkey sandwich, "is this how you guys fell in love the first time?"

"What? No. Of course not," Vidcund replies, turning away from his locker slightly, "We didn't start dating until he got with Circe-" Vidcund stops, his eyes widening in shock as the realization washes over him, "Wait, that's it! That's why none of my attempts are working. In order to make Loki fall for me, the circumstances have to be identical to the ones twenty-eight years ago," Vidcund says, getting more enthusiastic by the moment, "Which means, I have to speed up the process and get Circe and Loki to date and break up in less than a week, so Loki can realize that he loves me."

"Hmm…" Pascal begins, rubbing his chin in a ponder, "Well, I guess everyone thinks they know what they want until they actually get it," he says, eyeing Loki, who is staring longingly at Circe from across the room.

"Yeah," Vidcund nods, "But how am I supposed to get the two of them together when Circe thinks Loki is an undesirable train wreck?"

"Leave it to me and a classic 90s sitcom scheme!" Pascal chimes, eagerly holding up a pair of handcuffs.

…

A few minutes later, Pascal and Vidcund are hiding behind a row of lockers, peeking around the corner at Circe, who is busy conversing with some of her friends over her landslide dodgeball victory. Behind them, Loki is lingering near the water fountain watching Circe's every move.

"Alright," Pascal whispers to his brother, "I'm going in."

Pascal rounds the corner, whistling a cheerful tune as he approaches the lovestruck teen. "Hey, Loki!" Pascal beams, his rival jumping at the sound of his voice, "Want to see a magic trick?"

Loki turns and glares at Pascal, his hand on his chest as he quickly regains his composure, "No."

"Great!" Pascal smiles, "I just need a second volunteer!" Pascal pretends to survey the scene. He walks over to Circe and grabs her by the arm, pulling her away from her conversation.

"Hey!" Circe cries, shooting Pascal a glare as he moves her next to Loki.

"Now watch as I make your sanity disappear!" Pascal announces, waving his hands dramatically in front of the pair before swiftly handcuffing the two of them together. "Ta-dah!" Pascal sings, holding his hands up in the air.

"Pascal!" Circe growls, the reality of the situation now sinking in, "What have you done? You better uncuff us _right now_!"

Pascal smiles, "Okay," he says, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out the key. He steps towards them, holding the key inches from the lock.

Suddenly, the bell chimes above them, its ring echoing throughout the premises.

"-And there's the bell!" Pascal grins, quickly slipping the key back into his pocket, "See you later, folks!" he greets, racing down the hallway.

Circe groans and holds her free hand up to her forehead, already having enough of this whole circumstance. "I am going to kill him," she mutters, stopping Loki by holding her hand out in front of his face before he can even get a word in, "Don't talk to me," she states before angrily leading him down the hall.

Vidcund sighs as he watches the pair depart from behind the row of lockers, "This is going to be harder than I thought," he rolls his eyes, "Thanks, Amber," he sarcastically mutters.


	5. Bladder Failure

**Three Weeks**

_Part Five – Bladder Failure_

Later that same morning, Vidcund and Pascal are standing outside of Strangetown High School's cafeteria peering through the thin, glass window in the center of the door. Vidcund sighs as he eyes Circe and Loki, who are seated at the back table, still shackled together by their wrists. They are sitting in adjacent stools, but Circe has her body turned away from Loki and is tapping impatiently on the table as she stares up at the clock. Loki is propping his head up with his free hand on the linoleum surface.

"Okay," Vidcund speaks, turning to Pascal and clapping his hands together, "Now, in order to get Circe and Loki together, I first have to make sure that Circe and I are completely over," he says, letting out a small sigh, "Which means I'm going to have to do something I've never done before…break up with Circe."

Pascal's eyes widen in terror. "I don't know, Vid. I mean, are you sure you want to do this?" he wonders, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Nokia cell phone, "Do you want me to predial 911 before you go in there?"

Vidcund rolls his eyes, quickly waving away the thought, "Come on, Pascal. It's not going to be _that_ bad," Vidcund grabs the handle and swings open the door. Suddenly, he stops in the doorway, a dozen disastrous potential outcomes floating through his brain. Vidcund looks to Pascal and points at him, "Actually, you better predial 911 just in case," he states.

Pascal nods and does what he is told as Vidcund swings open the cafeteria door and steps inside. Vidcund walks to the back of the room, stepping a few feet short of the back table. He does a 180, takes a deep breath, and tries his best to suppress his nerves before approaching the pair.

Vidcund gives a sheepish smile as he takes the vacant seat across from his girlfriend. Upon seeing him, Circe turns towards Vidcund, giving him her full attention. "Hey, Circe," Vidcund greets, his greeting catching the attention of his rival.

"Hello, Vidcund," Circe mutters, her tone suggesting that she's had better days, "Look what your stupid brother did," she snarls, holding up her shacked wrist to him.

"Yeah…sorry about that," Vidcund replies, "Sometimes Pascal forgets about personal boundaries," he says, nervously tapping his fingers against the table's surface. "Anyway, I'm glad I caught you, Circe, because we really need to talk-"

"Vidcund Curious," Circe blares, her face turning bright red as she instantly realizes where this conversation is going, "Are you seriously about to break up with me while I'm chained to this idiot?"

"Hey!" Loki chimes, shooting his classmate a glare.

Vidcund nods and lets out a heavy sigh as he continues to lock eyes with his girlfriend, "It's just – I think we should see other people," he claims, before frantically pointing his pupils to Loki and coughing into his palm, "Loki," Vidcund suggests.

Circe cocks her forehead in confusion, "Uh…what are you doing with your eyes?"

"Nothing," Vidcund replies, anxiously tapping on the table.

"Yeah…" Circe responds, her voice laced with disbelief, "we are not breaking up, Vidcund."

"What?" Vidcund squeaks, leaning back in his seat slightly, "Why not?"

Circe smirks, "Because…I'm not done with you."

Vidcund's eyes widen, "Oh man, I really don't want to know what that means."

"It means that our relationship has not yet run its course," Circe explains, reaching over the surface and patting Vidcund's hands with her own, "and there's no one better that I want to date right now."

"Okay, fine," Vidcund says, the taste of copper filling his mouth as he attempts to come up with a detour for this roadblock, "If that's how you feel, then I think you should know that I'm cheating on you."

Circe laughs and stares up at the ceiling while Loki continues to awkwardly listen in on the exchange next to her, "Psh, please!" she chimes, "Like you would ever be able to find anyone to cheat on me with. We both know I'm the total package!"

"But-but-aww!" Vidcund groans, faceplanting on the table and hiding his face in his palms.

Circe and Loki stare at the young man bizarrely before Loki turns to Circe and clears his throat. "So Circe," Loki says, "any plans for tonight?"

"Yes. My _boyfriend_," Circe claims, sneering across the table at Vidcund, "is taking me out to dinner to make up for this idiotic exchange."

Hearing this, Vidcund immediately lifts his face up, a look of pure terror on his face. "_What_?"

…

"So, let me get this straight," Pascal begins, standing in front of Vidcund's locker while his brother packs up his belongings for the day, "You tried to break up with Circe but it didn't work, and now she's forcing you to take her out on a date in front of the guy you're supposed to woo?"

"Yes," Vidcund sighs, slamming his locker shut and faceplanting on its door.

"Hmm…" Pascal ponders, rubbing his chin as the situation sinks in his brain, "Maybe this won't be that bad. You can just turn the date into a competition for Circe's affections. Loki loves beating you at those!"

Vidcund groans as he turns around and leans up against his locker. "Well, I hate to have to do this, but if Circe isn't going to let me break up with her, then I'm going to have to get her to break up with me by reliving the most traumatic experience of my childhood."

"We're going back to Disneyland?" Pascal chimes, his face perking up at this news.

Vidcund shakes his head, "No, but we can use that as the backup plan," he tells Pascal as the pair head down the hallway, "To get Circe to break up with me, I have to wet my pants in front of her. Just like I did at Senior Prom," Vidcund says, his face lighting up when he sees Circe standing at her locker packing her books into her backpack with her one free hand. Loki is standing behind the locker door next to her, looking bored out of his mind. "Hey, Circe!" Vidcund calls out to her, giving a friendly wave.

Vidcund stops in the middle of the hallway. He crouches slightly, straining his body as he attempts to pee his pants. After a few moments of struggling, he stands up straight, Pascal now standing a good distance away from him, a grossed-out expression on his face. "God!" Vidcund cries, his hands perched on his hips, "It's so hard to do it on purpose."

"Uh, not to be rude," Pascal chimes, rejoining his brother in the center of the hallway as they head towards the school's exit, "but next time could you maybe not try to wet yourself in front of me? My life is traumatic enough as it is!" he argues.

…

"Wow, Vidcund. I'm so glad you decided to take me out," Circe awes as she walks hand in hand with her boyfriend at the park a few hours later, doing her best to ignore Loki who, due to an unfortunate circumstance, is forced to begrudgingly accompany the couple on their date.

Vidcund stops in his tracks, cocking his forward as he flashes his girlfriend a perturbed look, "But this date was your idea."

"I said I'm so _glad_ that you _decided_ to take me out," she growls, squeezing Vidcund's hand aggressively.

Vidcund sweat drops and quickly surveys the scene. "Uh, yeah…can you hang on for a second?" he wonders, dropping Circe's hand and running away from her before she can change his mind.

Circe watches as Vidcund stops in front of the park's water fountain and takes a super long drink. She cautiously steps forward, raising an eye at her boyfriend.

"Vidcund, are you okay?" Circe asks. Behind her, Loki appears as though he couldn't care less about this question, "This the tenth time you've taken a drink since we got here."

"Sorry, I – uh, just have flaming diarrhea," Vidcund lies, hoping to get out of this date as soon as possible. He shoots the pair a gigantic smile.

Circe steps forward after exchanging disturbed glances with Loki, "That's a joke, right?"

"Sure," Vidcund gulps, preparing himself for the potential backlash for what he is about to say next, "Whatever you say, Circykins."

Circe face drops as she crosses her arms over her torso, "Don't call me that," she demands.

Vidcund feels a chill go down his spine, "Understood," he squeaks.

"Good," Circe nods, leaning in for a kiss.

Vidcund quickly holds his hands up, blocking Circe before she can go any further, dodging a few glares from Loki. "Hold that for a second!" Vidcund says, hightailing to the water fountain once again and taking a deep drink.

Circe storms over to him and yanks Vidcund away from the fountain by the arm, clearly having enough of his shenanigans. "Vidcund!" Circe shouts, "I don't know what the hell has gotten into you today, but this ends _now_."

All of a sudden, Vidcund gasps, feeling a familiar yellow substance dripping down his leg. "My bladder's failing," Vidcund awes, standing up straight as he stares straight ahead at this revelation, "Yes!" he beams. Vidcund turns to the side, now noticing the bizarre looks that both Circe and Loki are flashing him, "I mean, uh, oh no. What an embarrassing circumstance," he states rather monotone. He takes a step back, eyeing the park exit, "Oh well, I guess you have no choice but to dump me," Vidcund states, giving Circe a shrug, "So…yeah. I respect your decision to end us," Vidcund says frantically, shifting his eyes from side to side before racing off the premises, "Bye!"

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Loki asks, still doing his best to process what just occurred in front of them.

Circe shakes her head and huffs, "Believe me, I've been trying to figure that out for the last ten years," she sighs.


	6. Wilkund & Passki

**Author's Note: **Hey guys, thanks so much for reading! Special thanks to ara-fusilli for her inspiration for this chapter. You're awesome! And I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it. :D

* * *

**Three Weeks**

_Part Six – Wilkund & Passki_

Vidcund sighs as he sits on his bed at the Curious residence early the next morning, flipping through the pages of a book that he checked out from the Strangetown Library entitled _Evil Love_, adamant that the answer to his latest conundrum is within its pages. After a few moments of scanning the same chapter five times, Vidcund groans and closes the book on his mattress. Vidcund looks up at his oldest brother, Pascal, who is reading a similar dating book in the chair across the room. "Did you find anything useful?" Vidcund wonders, watching Pascal flip the page.

Pascal shakes his head, "No. This book focuses more on assembling a nuclear reactor," he states, closing the book and setting it on the space-themed end table.

"Vidcund!" Kitty's voice rings down the hallway, "Circe is here!"

"Circe? Really?" Vidcund squeaks, a mix of confusion and terror spreading across his face when his mother says her name. Vidcund turns to Pascal; he shrugs.

Vidcund steps into the hallway, giving a heavy exhale as he cautiously peers around the corner at the front door, praying that Circe is here to break up with him. His heart sinks in his chest when he sees Circe enthusiastically talking to his mother.

"Uh, hey Circe," Vidcund greets, puzzled by Circe's uncharacteristically cheerful demeanor, "I see you got rid of Loki."

"What?" Circe replies, taking a step back to allow Kitty to exit through the front door. Circe stares down at her bare wrist, "Oh, yeah. My mom managed to saw us apart last night," she says, not giving the debacle a second thought, "So, are you going to invite me in or not?"

"Um, sure," Vidcund states, moving away from the door. Vidcund watches as Circe moseys into the house and takes a seat on the living room sofa. She smiles and pats the seat next to her. "Uh, isn't there something you want to say to me first?" he asks.

Circe tilts her forehead, "No, I don't think so."

"Really?" Vidcund chimes, unable to believe what he is hearing, "I thought after what happened yesterday, you'd _understandably_ want to let me go," Vidcund replies, taking the seat next to her.

Circe laughs, shaking her head at the suggestion. "I'm not going to dump you, Vidcund."

"You're not?"

"No," Circe responds, gently patting his hand, "Are you kidding? That would be social suicide! I don't want to be known as the biggest jerk in school. That title belongs to Loki," Circe explains, placing her hand on top of his and enlacing their fingers.

Vidcund sighs as his eyes trail to the floor, "Right," he mutters, visibly defeated.

"Now, if you're done freaking out, let's do something more romantic," Circe coos, leaning forward to kiss her boyfriend. She stops suddenly when she locks eyes with Vidcund, the image of Vidcund wetting his pants reflecting in his pupils, mesmerizing her with its awfulness.

Circe leans back on the sofa, shaking her head abruptly as the image repeatedly burns into her brain. She stands up, grabbing her purse as she makes a beeline for the door. "I have to go," she states, slamming the door while Vidcund sits cluelessly on the sofa.

"Huh," Vidcund says as Pascal sticks his head in from the hallway, "I wonder what that was about."

…

Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund and Pascal are standing on the front porch of the highly-familiar Beaker castle preparing to enact the next part of their plan. Vidcund smiles as he stops in front of the open archway, the castle virtually unchanged from its present-day structure. "Well, it's good to know at least one thing is the same," Vidcund nods as Pascal flips through the notebook he is holding. Vidcund smiles as he awkwardly stares through the doorway, spotting Loki's parents, who are busy playing a game of Sorry! on the dining room table with their daughter, Erin, "Uh…knock-knock?"

Seeing them, Gundrun springs up from her spot at the table and races over to the two Curious brothers, "Aww, Bjorn, look! It's the Curious brothers!" she coos, stopping in front of them.

"Really?" Erin squeaks, pushing her chair away from the table.

"Lazlo's not with them," Gundrun quickly states as Bjorn stands up from his seat to join his wife at the door. Erin lets out a disappointed groan and returns to the game.

"Yeah…sorry about that," Vidcund replies, nervously scratching the back of his neck, "We're actually here to see Loki."

Gundrun squeals and bounces in place, "Aww, Bjorn! Did you hear that? Our son has _friends_!"

Bjorn nods excitedly, "Quick, get the camera, Gun! We have to capture this moment!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Gundrun replies, frantically racing to the closet and grabbing the Polaroid camera. She stops in front of the staircase, beaming as she shouts up the stairs, "Loki, your friends are here!"

"Friends?" Loki shouts from his room, deeply confused.

"Yes! Your friends Wilkund and Passki!" she yells back, before turning to the puzzled teens and flashing them a thumbs-up.

"Wilkund and Passki? Who the hell are Wilkund and Passki?!" Loki shouts back, befuddled and embarrassed by his mother's shenanigans, "Do you mean Vidcund and Pascal?"

Gundrun nods, positively delighted, the mother completely unfazed by her son's comments, "It's your best friend, the Curious brothers!"

Loki groans and utters a few swears from his bedroom.

Gundrun turns to Vidcund and Pascal and smiles, "He'll be right down."

A minute later, Loki trudges down the staircase, rolling his eyes when he sees Vidcund and Pascal waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Loki groans as he stops in front of the pair. Gundrun snaps his picture. "This is the worst Saturday ever," he mutters.

"No, it's not," Pascal chimes, hugging his notebook in excitement, "Because we're going to help make you Mr. Desirable!"

Loki glares at Pascal, "What the hell does that mean?"

"That means that the two of us," Pascal begins, stopping briefly to gesture at himself and Vidcund, "are going to help you get Circe."

Loki cocks his forehead as his parents surprisingly exit the foyer and resume their game in the kitchen, "I thought she was dating Vidcund," he states.

"She is," Pascal replies, "but everyone knows she secretly wants you," he explains, taking a step towards him, "I mean, who wouldn't?" he chimes, licking his lips slightly.

"Take a step away from me," Loki sneers.

Pascal sweatdrops and immediately steps back from him, "Understood."

…

A few minutes later, Pascal, Vidcund, and Loki are sitting in the upstairs living room, the eldest Curious brother flipping through his notebook from the sofa while Loki sits in the chair adjacent to him. Vidcund is awkwardly hovering behind the sofa.

"Okay, so I'm going to go through this list of questions and I want you to answer them honestly," Pascal explains, stopping on first page and turning to his rival, "What is your favorite drink?"

"The blood of my enemies," Loki replies, not having to think twice about it. Vidcund raises his eyebrows at this news.

"Uh-huh," Pascal states, casually writing this piece of information down, "And your favorite season?"

"Winter," Loki answers, "Cause, you know, everything's dead."

"Yeah…right," Vidcund responds as he watches Pascal write the words 'death season' into his notebook.

Pascal smiles as he stares up from his notebook, "And lastly, what's your favorite phrase?"

"Get out," Loki replies as Vidcund mutters it simultaneously from behind the couch. Loki turns Vidcund, his eyes widening in shock. "Yeah," Loki confirms, still taken off-guard by this moment.

Pascal laughs, "'Get out.' That's a classic!" he praises, before quickly writing Loki's answer down. Pascal sighs as he scans over Loki's answers before flipping to the back of his book. "Hmm...according to this, you're an Autumn."

"What?! Let me see that!" Loki cries, snatching the book from Pascal and looking over the results.

Vidcund steps up behind him, his face falling when he eyes the title of the quiz that they spent a mere five minutes on, "What Color Season Are You?" Vidcund reads, his face frowning at this discovery. He turns to Loki, grabbing his brother firmly by the wrist, "Excuse us for a moment," Vidcund states, quickly pulling Pascal into the hallway.

"Pascal, what are you doing?!" Vidcund whisper-exclaims.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing'?" Pascal repeats, "I thought this was part of the plan!"

"No, it wasn't."

"Oh," Pascal squeaks, eyeing Loki, who is still reading over his results on the sofa, "Well, it's working pretty well, don't you think?"

Vidcund shakes his head, "No. This plan makes no sense!"

"What are you talking about? Of course it does!" Pascal argues, "The more we know Loki, the more we can be sure that he's a suitable match for Circe."

Vidcund sighs and stares up at the ceiling, "We already know he's a suitable match for Circe. This quiz is a complete waste of time!" he whisper-shouts, throwing his arms up, "And now I'm no closer to getting him to fall for me than I was six days ago," Vidcund sighs as he throws his arms down at his side, "I'm going home."

Vidcund gives a brief wave to his brother before stomping down the staircase and running out the door. Hearing this, Loki sits up from the sofa and stares out the window, watching Vidcund exit Tesla Court, a strange, unknown feeling washing over him. Loki sighs as he shakes away the peculiar thoughts, "I must be going crazy," he mumbles, plopping back down on the sofa and returning to the quiz results.

…

That night, Vidcund is sitting on the Curious family's living room sofa, forlornly tracing the pattern on the left arm. Pascal sighs as he peers around the corner, wondering how he could mess things up so badly for someone he cares about.

"I'm sorry, Vidcund," Pascal apologies, stepping into the room and sitting down next to him, "I tried to help you, and I just made things worse. That's the last time I'll make you try one of my stupid plans again-"

The doorbell chimes throughout the residence, causing the two brothers to snap out of their somber states of mind. Vidcund turns to Pascal, a baffled expression on his face. "Uh, I'll get it…I guess." Vidcund stands up from the sofa and quickly walks over to the front door.

"Circe?" Vidcund speaks up, finding his girlfriend standing on the other side of the doorway for the second time that day. "What are you doing here?" he wonders.

"Vidcund, I can't do this anymore," Circe cries, frantically avoiding eye contact, "I can't date you."

"Really?" Vidcund squeaks, doing his best to conceal his excitement to avoid getting slapped in the face by Strangetown's scariest resident, "Why?"

"Because every time I look at you, I can't stop thinking about you wetting your pants!" she cries, still unable to match his gaze. She holds her hand up, "Goodbye," Circe states solemnly, before swerving on her heel and travelling down the stairs without a second thought.

Vidcund nods, unable to believe that this is actually happening. "Yeah," he answers, content with his delayed response, "Goodbye." Vidcund slowly closes the door, incapable of masking the smile that is forming on his face.

Pascal gets up off the sofa and walks over to him, puzzled by the whole situation. "What happened?" he wonders.

"Circe just broke up with me," Vidcund replies, pausing briefly, his expression unreadable as he stands in the center of the living room. All of a sudden, he throws his hands up and cheers at the ceiling, "YES!"


	7. Epiphany

**Three Weeks**

_Part Seven – Epiphany_

"Careful…careful…" Pascal states, staring intensely down at the giant house of cards perched on the Curious family's signature blue and white checkered kitchen table in front of him, as the sun shines in through the window early the next morning. Behind him, Vidcund is tirelessly looking after his father's Tamagotchi while he is in the bathroom.

The doorbell rings, causing Vidcund to sit up from a nearby kitchen chair. He races to the door, accidentally knocking his foot against the table as the bell echoes throughout the residence.

"Hey!" Pascal cries, watching as the feeble cards land in a pile on the wooden surface, "I wanted to destroy that on my terms!" he cries, gesturing to the dismantled card house.

"Sorry, Pascal," Vidcund replies, quickly grabbing the stack of mail from the mailman and closing the door. He stops at the edge of the table while he riffles through the letters. He stops suddenly, a peculiar envelope catching his eye, "Huh. This one's from the Beakers."

"Really?" Pascal chimes, immediately standing up from his seat at the table and walking over to him, "What makes you say that?" he wonders.

Vidcund's sighs, the puzzled expression still gracing his face, "The stamp is a picture of Loki," he replies, flipping the letter over and tapping his finger at the custom stamp featuring a headshot of their rival surrounded by a sea of cartoon hearts.

"Hey, yeah," Pascal states, squinting his eyes for a closer look, "Yeesh! That's a really unflattering photo of him."

Vidcund flips the letter around and nods in agreement before tearing it open. Inside is a card with a child's teddy bear on it holding a stack of colorful balloons, a stereotypical card for a third year old. Vidcund opens it and eagerly scans over the message.

"It's an invitation to Loki's birthday party," Vidcund announces after reading the card's contents three times through. Vidcund closes the card slightly, an unusual expression spread across his face, "But isn't Loki's birthday in the summer?"

Pascal shrugs, "I don't know. Don't ask me how this universe works," he says before snatching the invitation from his brother. He reads it over and smiles, "Wow! I can't believe I'm finally going to my first non-Curious birthday party! And it's a sweet sixteen, so you know it's going to be great."

"Oh no," Vidcund moans, his face immediately falling at this news as he plops himself onto Glarn's favorite living-room chair, "Don't tell me _this _is the legendary sweet sixteen party," he moans, throwing his hands over his face.

Hearing this, Pascal steps forward and cocks his forehead, his curiosity getting the best of him. He stops in front of Vidcund, "Oh, come on! You can't drop a bombshell like that and not elaborate."

"Fine, if this really is Loki's sweet sixteen birthday party, then this party is the reason why Loki hates birthdays so much in the first place," Vidcund confesses, throwing his arms out to look up at his brother, "If I'm remembering correctly, then this is the party where his parents wear matching t-shirts with his face on them and bake him a cake made of rhubarb and vitamins…then Loki throws up on Circe."

"Eww!" Pascal grimaces, his stomach sinking at this information, "Who puts rhubarb in a cake?"

"Ugh!" Vidcund groans, flopping down on the carpet and staring up at the ceiling, "Now I really don't want to go."

Pascal takes a step closer to Vidcund, stopping in his brother's eyeline, "Well, maybe this won't be that bad," Pascal assures him, "I mean, now that you know what happens, maybe you can prevent it and make yourself the hero."

"Huh," Vidcund replies, sitting up on the shag carpet, his face still in a ponder, "That's not a terrible suggestion, but I'm not sure making myself the hero of the situation would make Loki like me. He is evil, after all."

"True," Pascal responds, "But at this point, do you really have anything left to lose? You're already a week in, and Loki doesn't even have a crush on you."

"Thanks, Pascal," Vidcund mutters, standing up in place and crossing his arms over his torso, "But you know what? I think you're right about this one," he states, a surprisingly determined look shining on his face, "Now let's go wreck Loki's sweet sixteen!"

…

"Happy birthday to _youuuuuuu_!" Bjorn and Gundrun haphazardly sing a week later, their off-key singing causing half of the guests to cringe.

Loki sighs from his seat between Circe and Vidcund, looking the most miserable he ever has in his life, the glare not leaving his face since Vidcund and his brothers arrived at the residence an hour ago.

Vidcund glances around the room, the kitchen lavished with all the decorations a child would dream of…if they're a seven-year-old girly girl. Vidcund eyes land on Pascal, who is standing at the edge of the table, bouncing in place. Aside from Loki's parents, who are wearing matching Loki sweatshirts, he is only person in attendance who actually wants to be celebrating.

Gundrun beams as she leans towards her son, quickly placing her prized potted fern in front of Circe in the process. "Blow out the candles, sweetheart!"

"Why?" Loki wonders, holding his hand in his head as he mumbles, "I'm already sixteen!"

"I know, honey, but you didn't have any friends at your last birthday party, so that one didn't really count."

Loki's face immediately flashes red, "_Mom_!"

Erin sighs, turning away from Lazlo for a moment, and leans over the table. She quickly blows out the candles, then glares up at her mother. "There," she huffs, "Now can we all get on with our lives?"

"Thanks Erin," Loki mutters.

"-Not yet!" Gundrun chimes, racing over to the kitchen counter and grabbing her camera, "Let's take a picture of the birthday boy and all his posse!" she exclaims, scooching everyone into place with her hand. She moves Circe another foot away from her son and slides the potted fern forward, completely blocking Circe out of the shot. Vidcund cocks his forehead, eyeing the pissed off expressions on both Circe and Loki's faces. "Great! Everyone say, 'Loki is a cutie!'"

"Loki is a cutie!" Vidcund repeats, quickly covering his mouth with his hand when he realizes he is the only one that has done so. Loki whips his head to the side, flashing Vidcund a look of apt shock.

Gundrun snaps the photo and smiles. "Ooh! This is just splendid!" she cries, hugging the camera to her chest as a small gravelly sound signals the end of the roll, "Now we just have to wait three days to see how these turned out!"

Vidcund sighs and rubs his aching forehead, wondering how much longer he has to put up with this nightmare before he can go home. Gundrun had invited almost everyone at Strangetown High School to Loki's birthday party and, as a surprise to no one, only Circe and the Curious brothers showed up. Vidcund wondered how Circe had managed to find out about the party in the first place, considering she told him twenty minutes ago that her invitation had conveniently gotten lost in the mail that morning. But, not wanting to miss out on any social event, Circe attended uninvited.

Vidcund's eyes widen as he watches Bjorn set a slice of cake in front of Loki. "Don't eat that!" Vidcund cries, swiftly knocking the pink frosted cake to the floor. The porcelain plate shatters into a million pieces, barely missing their bodies.

"Vidcund! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Loki blares, the room dead silent around them as all the partygoers watch their every move.

"That cake has been sitting out all morning. If you eat it, you're going to get food poisoning!"

Loki cocks his forehead, his expression laced with disbelief, "How do you know that?"

"I-uh…" Vidcund stumbles in his mind, wanting to tell Loki the real reason, but knowing there is no way that his rival will ever believe him. He sighs, "Never mind."

Vidcund scoots his chair back from the table and stands up from his seat, making a beeline for the front archway. Unbeknownst to him, Loki is watching him in silence.

"Alright then. I hope everyone likes rhubarb and vitamin cake!" Gundrun beams, stepping forward and cutting each guest a slice.

…

Twenty-five minutes later, Vidcund is sitting on the porch, feeling the crisp desert air around him and thinking about his life. "In ten short days, it'll all be over," Vidcund speaks into the wind, "In ten short days, I'll be stuck here forever," he mulls, resting his head in his hands. "God, what was I thinking? I never had a chance at winning. I don't even know how I got him to like me in the first place-" Vidcund stops as he hears someone step onto the porch behind him. Vidcund gazes up towards the sun only to find Loki staring down at him.

"Hey," Loki flatly greets.

"Uh, hey," Vidcund replies, aghast by the whole situation as he struggles to come up with something innocuous to say to him, "How was the cake?"

"I wouldn't know," Loki shrugs, his hands still in his pockets as he stares down at his rival, "I didn't eat it."

Vidcund nods, his gaze falling to the porch, "Oh."

"Everyone got sick, you know," Loki speaks into the silence, "My dad just remembered that he accidentally left it out this morning," Loki continues, cautiously crouching down next to him, "How did you know that?"

"I know a lot more about you than you think I do," Vidcund confesses, unable to match Loki's eyeline, "Twenty-eight years more to be exact."

Loki crosses his arms, his expressionless face driving his rival mad, "You're talking about the two of us, aren't you? And that weird witch's spell?"

"What's it matter?" Vidcund questions, staring out at the desert in front of him. Even though the wind is torrid, he can still feel tears welling up in the back of his eyes, "You don't believe me anyway."

"That's true…" Loki nods, surprising deep in thought, "…but I think I'm starting to."

Vidcund watches as Loki stands up beside him, the revelation shocking Vidcund to the core. Vidcund shivers and hugs himself, a small smile spreading across his face as a tinge of hope gleams in his eyes.


	8. There's Always a Twist

**Three Weeks**

_Part Eight – There's Always a Twist_

Vidcund moans as a shooting pain strikes his temples. He sighs, rubbing them gently as he opens his eyes, only to be greeted by a blinding light shining down on him. Vidcund blinks a few times, the scenery slowly filtering in around him as a wooden table appears beside his midsection.

"Alright," a bold yet familiar voice chimes from above him, "for a chance to play in the finals. Here we go!" Chairman Brown beams, the final equation for the second round of the Simverse Winter Physics Bowl flashing on the screen behind him.

Vidcund looks up, confounded by the whole situation. He looks at his opponent, Cindy, who is busy scribbling on a sheet of paper in front of them. Vidcund gasps and turns to look at the members of his old Sim State Physics Team – Loki, Circe, and Craig – who are all shouting at him to hurry up.

Vidcund reaches towards the buzzer, his hand fading as he tries to buzz in. Vidcund watches in horror as the rest of him starts fading out of existence, unable to cry for help and barely able to hear Cindy chime her answer.

"That is correct!" Chairman Brown's voice blares from the podium, "Aurora Skies advances to the finals!"

…

Vidcund reappears outside of the Beaker castle on the outdoor second-floor staircase, the night cold and unwelcoming around him. He bolts up the stairs, nearly tripping over his own legs in the process. Vidcund reaches the top of the roof, drenched and terrified as lightning strikes the sky above him.

"Loki!" Vidcund cries, finding his beloved sprawled out on the cement, the telescope cracked in half and laying over his midsection. Vidcund pushes the telescope off him, bends over, and attempts to cradle Loki in his arms, but the weight of his partner is too much for him to handle.

Vidcund sets Loki down, the biologist struck with pure panic as he scans the area for help, his body becoming transparent once more. "CIRCE! PASCAL! LAZLO! HELP!" Vidcund struggles to cry over the rain, his voice almost nonexistent by the third name. He sets his hand softly down on Loki's chest, the physicist's temperature getting dangerously low. Vidcund tries to shout again, but his voice is muted. He disappears out of existence.

…

Vidcund fades back into existence on the center of Loki's living room couch. He cautiously stands up, finding himself drawn to the strange noises that are seeping out from under the basement door. Vidcund slowly walks down the stairs, spotting a thirty-four-year-old Loki cursing at his latest scientific failure, two newborns who would later be known as Atom and Ceres.

"Damn it! The Strangetown Federal Commission wants clones, not children!" Loki blares, reaching behind him and taking hold of the hammer. He swings it back, "I gotta get rid of the evidence!"

"NO!" Vidcund cries, racing over and blocking his path. Vidcund watches in horror as he once again becomes translucent, the hammer going right through him.

"Daddy!" Atom and Ceres' ten-year-old future voices cry, their blood-curling screams paralyzing their glasses-wearing father.

…

Fifteen-year-old Vidcund shrieks and jolts awake in a cold sweat on the Curious family's 90s-styled sofa. Vidcund sighs and gently places his hand over his heart, relieved to find his heartbeat returning to its normal speed.

"Hey, Vid," Pascal chimes, walking into the room to greet his distressed brother and wearing his best spaceship pajamas. Pascal stops and scans him over, still hanging onto a package of Dunk-a-Roos, "Did the doorbell wake you up, too?"

"What? No, I uh-actually had a nightmare," Vidcund feebly replies, wiping some dried drool off his face as the morning sun shines through the window. The doorbell chimes a few feet away from the pair, but Pascal doesn't budge. Vidcund yawns as stares up at his brother, "So uh, I guess you probably want me to answer it, huh?"

Pascal shrugs, "I guess. I don't know. It seems like something you would do," he replies, taking off down the hall in his alien slippers before he can give it a second thought.

Vidcund stands up from the sofa and walks over to the front door. He swings it open, stepping back slightly when he finds his rival staring sheepishly at the porch. Loki tugs on the sleeve of his sweater. "Hey," Loki greets, barely looking up from the floor.

"Uh, hey," Vidcund replies, still shocked by his sudden appearance, "Are you here to see me?"

"No, I'm here to swipe your newspaper," Loki sarcastically snaps, crossing his arms over his torso. Loki rolls his eyes at his rival's stupidity, "What do you think?"

"I think that you want me to go somewhere with you because you don't want to be anywhere near my brother," Vidcund replies, carefully choosing his words.

Loki nods, "Smart boy," he smirks, taking a step back, "Now come on, the pool opens at ten."

…

Fifteen minutes later, Loki and Vidcund are sitting at the edge of Strangetown's largest community pool, still dressed in their everyday attire. Loki sighs as he swings his legs over the side of pool, staring pensively at the water. "You know Vidcund, I've been doing a lot of research on alternate dimensions lately and…I guess it's not that far-fetched to think that there's a universe out there where you and I are together," he speaks, the volume of his voice barely over a whisper.

Vidcund cocks his forehead and turns to him, "_Really_?" he squeaks.

Loki nods, his face flushing as he elaborates on the matter, "Yeah, well…there's probably some universe where I'm blind and brain-dead," he quips, flashing a small smile. Loki turns to the right and leans forward, getting a good look at Vidcund's face for first time since they arrived, "You are kind of cute, though," Loki confesses as the pair stare deeply into each other's eyes. Loki frowns at his own comment, "But I swear if you tell anyone that I said that, I will murder you," he growls.

Vidcund nods, too high on cloud nine to care about his rival's threat, "I understand," he replies. Loki scoots a few inches closer to him causing Vidcund's brain to jump into red alert, "_Oh God. He's coming onto me!" _Vidcund cries as buzzers start going off in his head,_ "What are you doing, Vidcund? This is it. Kiss him! He wants you."_

Vidcund abruptly leans forward causing him to immediately lose his balance and fall into the pool, waving his arms like a madman the whole way down. Vidcund pops his head above the water, his entire body drenched as he struggles to regain his vision. He coughs a few times before taking off his glasses. Vidcund's stomach drops when he notices Loki has fled the scene.

"Great, just great," Vidcund mutters, swimming in place to stay afloat, "And I was so close to getting out of here."

Vidcund groans as he swims towards the edge of the pool, his ten pounds worth of clothing making this simple task a chore. Vidcund pulls himself up onto the nearest ledge and flops down on cement. He stares helplessly up at the sky.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite challenge pawn," Amber Pons coos, appearing in Vidcund's line of vision.

Vidcund screams and quickly sits up on the pavement, the witch towering above him. Vidcund scoots back a few feet and stares into the eyes of his tormentor. "Oh great. What do _you_ want?"

"I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing," Amber answers, folding her arms with a smirk, "So tell me Vidcund, does Loki love you yet?"

Vidcund shakes his head, "No, not yet," he answers honestly, "But I think he's starting to."

"Oh, really?" Amber skeptically replies, "I'm quite surprised to hear that considering you're soaked and Loki is nowhere in sight."

"Alright, Amber. I'm smart enough to know that you have better things to do with your time than to talk to me, so what you are really after?"

"Wow, Vidcund. You may actually be smarter than I thought," Amber smirks, surprised by Vidcund's courageousness, "You have a lot of guts showing attitude to a witch, particularly one who cast a curse on you that could obliterate your very existence," she coos, kneeling down to his level, "But before our journey comes to a close, I feel as though there is one thing you should know about me. I've cast a lot of curses in my day, Vidcund, and when it comes to bets, I always give it my all," Amber reveals, her tone tenacious and chilling, "I don't take well to losing, but if you can get Loki to fall for you in the next nine days then I will admit defeat and send you back to him," she promises.

"Okay, great," Vidcund replies, giving a small sigh of relief as he stares into Amber's piercing eyes, "Um, why are you telling me this?"

Amber looks up and cackles at the sky before staring back into his soul. "Because, my dear sweet Vidcund, there's something else you need to know about my wagers. And that is…there's always a twist," she smirks.

…

Vidcund is sitting at his desk in the back of his Geometry classroom early the next morning waiting patiently for his teacher to arrive. Vidcund sighs as he stares longingly at Loki, who is sitting a few seats away from him on the right. Upon seeing Vidcund, Loki flashes his rival a small smile.

The classroom door cracks open as their Geometry teacher, Mr. Pytha, walks into the room, a familiar face filing in behind him. Mr. Pytha stops beside his desk at the front of the classroom and smiles at his students. "Class," he begins, clasping his hands together as the students shockingly quiet down and turn their attentions to the two people near the blackboard, "I'd like to introduce to all of you, our new student-" Mr. Pytha pauses slightly and turns to the girl with the long, blonde hair, who is sporting a friendly smile next to him, "-uh, what was your name again?"

"Crystal," the girl states, holding her books against her classic pink shirt and blue jeans ensemble.

"Oh, yes, Crystal. Crystal Vu," Mr. Pytha quickly introduces. He and the class give a meager round of applause. Mr. Pytha waits until the lackadaisical clap dies down then turns to her, "You can take the seat next to those two," Mr. Pytha instructs, pointing at the empty desk between Vidcund and Loki.

Vidcund watches helplessly as Crystal sits down between them, his stomach filling with dread as Loki already appears smitten by her.

Vidcund sighs as he throws his head back at the ceiling, "I am so screwed."


	9. Imbroglio

**Three Weeks**

_Part Nine – Imbroglio_

Vidcund is lying down on the Curious family sofa later that afternoon staring up at the ceiling, his head reeling over Amber's latest twist. Pascal steps forward and appears in Vidcund's line of vision. Vidcund sighs, his hand perched on his forehead as Pascal stares curiously down at him.

"I can't do it, Pascal. I can't beat her," he moans.

Pascal cocks his forehead, "Why not?"

"Because," Vidcund exhales, sitting up on the sofa, "how in the hell am I supposed to win Loki's affections over Crystal in the past if I can't even do it in the future? Amber made this impossible, and she knows it."

"Come on Vidcund, don't you think that's kind of stretch?" Pascal replies, taking a seat on the cushion next to him, "There's got to be some way you can win."

Vidcund shakes his head, "That's the thing, Pascal. There's not. Believe me, if there's one thing that this whole experience has taught me, it's that people don't change," Vidcund explains, giving a heavy sigh as he leans back in his seat, "No matter what I do, Loki's still going to fall for Crystal anyway because everyone will always be inherently the same!"

All of sudden, Vidcund sits up slightly, his eyes shining as he strikes an epiphany.

Pascal turns to his brother with a smirk, his arms crossed over his torso as he recognizes the insightful look in Vidcund's eyes. "Meaning…?" Pascal begins.

"Meaning…this may not be so hopeless after all," Vidcund grins.

…

The next morning, Pascal and Vidcund are standing in front of Vidcund's locker catching their youngest brother, Lazlo, up on their newest plan. Vidcund sighs as he adjusts the suit jacket on Lazlo's shoulders while Pascal hands the puzzled Curious a box of chocolates. "Okay, so…what am I doing?" Lazlo wonders once his brothers step away from him.

"You're romancing the new girl, Crystal, so Vidcund can keep her away from Loki," Pascal tells him, gesturing over his shoulder at the blonde teen, who is busy putting away her books in her locker across the hallway.

Lazlo tilts his forehead, "Why would I do that?" he wonders.

"Because you and Crystal are practically soulmates in the future and if you guys get together thirteen years earlier, then it's really going to help me out," Vidcund explains, giving Lazlo a gentle pat on the shoulder. "We don't have much time left, so just go over there and introduce yourself."

Lazlo takes a step back, quivering in his shoes, "I don't know, guys. I don't think I'm good with women."

"You're joking, right?" Vidcund tells him, briefly locking eyes with Pascal to confirm, "You're a total chick magnet. You can get any girl you want without even trying."

"Really?" Lazlo squeaks, "That doesn't sound like me."

Vidcund sighs and steps forward, "Maybe not now. But trust me, it will," he states, grabbing Lazlo by the shoulders and turning him towards Crystal. "Now please do this for me, so I'm not stuck here forever."

Lazlo nods and takes a step forward before letting out a cowardly squeak and racing back to hide behind Vidcund's locker. "I-I can't! I'm too nervous!" Lazlo cries, cowering behind the open door, "I feel like I'm going to puke."

Vidcund sighs as he stares down at his youngest brother, his empathy immediately kicking in. "Alright, it's fine," he assures him, "I'll just go over there and introduce her to you."

Pascal and Lazlo watch as Vidcund confidently walks across the hallway, Lazlo standing up in place as Vidcund stops in front of the new girl. "Hello," Vidcund greets, his sudden appearance causing Crystal to gasp.

"Oh, hi," Crystal states, her hand over her chest as she calms from the sudden disruption. "You're Vidcund, right?" she says in a surprisingly friendly tone, "You're in my Geometry class."

"Yeah, that's me," Vidcund replies, wondering how he's still so awkward after all these years as Crystal rearranges some of the books in her locker, "Look, I know you've only been here for a day, but I already know someone who really likes you."

Crystal stops and turns towards him, her face glowing at the thought, "Really?" Crystal beams, "Wow! That never happened at my other school."

"Yes, well, it did here and this guy's a real catch," Vidcund continues, glancing over his shoulder at his brothers, who are still watching them from across the hall, "I think you two will really hit it off."

"Okay," Crystal chimes, hugging her books to her torso, "So, what's he like?"

"Well, he's nice, smart, and a little nerdy," Vidcund says, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands as he struggles to come up with acceptable things to say about his brother, "And he's got a few brothers who aren't major dorks."

Crystal laughs as she places a hand on Vidcund's shoulder, "You know, if you like me, you could've just said so."

"What?! No!" Vidcund cries, frantically waving his hands in front of his chest as the plan spirals out of control, "No, not me. I'm talking about my brother, Lazlo."

"Uh-huh," Crystal smirks, folding her arms over her chest; the dubious glint in her eyes telling Vidcund that she clearly doesn't believe him, "Then why didn't he come over here himself?"

"Because he's extremely shy," Vidcund answers as if this is obvious. "So, are you interested in him or not?"

Crystal turns to the side and glances at the pair of brothers across the room. She looks back to Vidcund and shakes her head. "No, I'm interested in _you_," she coos. Crystal leans forward, giving Vidcund a peck on the cheek before slamming her locker door shut behind her. "See you later, Vidcund!" she beams.

Vidcund cowers as he watches her retreat down the hallway. Pascal and Lazlo quickly race over to their brother, who is now leaning defeatedly up against Crystal's locker. "Okay, maybe I was wrong," Vidcund states as he feels a colossal headache sneaking up on him, "Maybe the people in the past are nothing like they are in the future."

"Well, that would explain how you got two girls to like you," Pascal mutters causing Vidcund to shoot his oldest brother a glare.

Vidcund sighs, "Thanks, Pascal."

…

Later that morning, Vidcund is back at his locker sluggishly putting away his books before lunch. Vidcund exhales as he places his final book in his locker before he grabs his lunch bag. Vidcund steps back from his locker and slams the door shut only to find himself face to face with Circe, who is standing beside the row of lockers, her arms crossed.

"How could you, Vidcund?" Circe states, her tone sharp and icy, "How could you move on so quickly? I thought you and I had something special, at least on your end."

Vidcund sighs as he rubs his forehead, which hasn't stopped aching since Crystal kissed him, "We do. No, wait – I mean, we don't," Vidcund quickly corrects, doing his best to keep his facts straight, "I mean, I used to like you, but I don't anymore and I am not interested in Crystal in any way whatsoever, so you have nothing to worry about if you still like me. But please don't still like me," Vidcund begs, clasping his hands together in a prayer, hoping that things don't get even more complicated.

Circe crosses her arms and cocks her forehead, "Well, you have nothing to worry about there because you and I are_ long_ over."

"Great!" Vidcund beams, swerving on his heel and taking off down the hallway. To his displeasure, Circe follows after him.

"Wait, you're happy that we're no longer together?" Circe wonders, relentlessly keeping up with him. Vidcund nods. "Well," Circe huffs as the pair stops in front of the cafeteria's double doors, "then that changes everything," she states, staring up at her ex-boyfriend, "Maybe I still like you after all."

Vidcund sighs as he throws his head back at the ceiling, "Oh no."

"Wow Vidcund," Circe begins, affectionately wrapping her arms around him. She smiles as she pulls back, holding her ex-boyfriend at arms-length as she stares lovingly into his eyes, "I can't believe we ever broke up," she coos, before leaning forward a planting one on him.

Vidcund freezes, his whole body frozen in shock as he watches Circe give him a perky wave before entering the cafeteria. Vidcund groans, his body slowly regaining movement as he trudges back towards his locker. "God, I don't think this day could get anymore twisted-"

Vidcund stops in place, finding himself face to face with Loki, who is leaning up against his rival's locker door. Loki sets his foot down when he sees him, his arms crossed and his face filled with hurt, "Well, Vidcund. You sure had me fooled," Loki states, looking as though he is about to lose it at any moment, "Here I was standing here like a chump thinking that you liked me when you've been busy schmoozing everyone in school."

"Loki," Vidcund begins, his face softening at the accusation, "that's not true. I swear I don't like Circe or Crystal. I like you-"

"Psh, yeah right!" Loki snaps, rolling his eyes up at the ceiling, "Do you honestly expect to believe that? This whole thing has just been a game to you!"

Vidcund stops in place. As much as he wants to dismiss these claims, Loki's last statement is actually true. "Look, I can't deny everything about this, but I do really like you. And it doesn't matter if you believe me or not because that doesn't make it any less true. You and I belong together."

Loki takes a step back and hugs himself, Vidcund's response taking him slightly off-guard. "Say what you will, Vidcund," Loki begins, fire lacing his voice, "but I will never like you," his words stinging like the final twist of a knife.

Vidcund watches hopelessly as Loki takes off down the hallway, feeling his life slowly slipping through his fingers, "Yeah, I know," he sighs helplessly as the reality of the situation sinks in.


End file.
